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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — As President Donald Trump’s administration imposes new restrictions on the legal immigration system, U.S. adults are more likely than they were a year ago to think these immigrants benefit the country, according to a new poll.

The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that Americans are more likely than they were in March 2024 to say it’s a “major benefit” that people who come to the U.S. legally contribute to economic growth and help American companies get the expertise of skilled workers. The survey also shows that Americans are less likely than they were in January to say the number of legal immigrants to the U.S. should be reduced. Slightly fewer than half of Americans say the number should remain the same, a similar percentage from earlier this year.

At the same time, perceptions of illegal immigration haven’t shifted meaningfully. Americans continue to see fewer benefits from people who come to the U.S. illegally, and they’re more likely to see major risks from these immigrants, including the concern that they’ll commit crimes while in the U.S.

Trump, a Republican, has focused much of his attention on arresting and deporting those in the country illegally, but new screenings, vetting and increased costs are also impacting people who want to come to the U.S. legally to work or study. On Friday, Trump signed a proclamation to overhaul the H-1B visa program, one of the most common pathways for highly skilled foreign workers, requiring now a $100,000 fee for applications. The application fee was previously $215, plus other relatively nominal processing charges. The Trump administration is also subjecting green card applicants to “anti-Americanism” screening, and students applying for visas now need to adhere to social media vetting.

Even Republicans are less likely to say legal immigration should be reduced than they were earlier this year and more likely to say it should remain as is.

Philip Steers, of St. Petersburg, Florida, is a Republican and feels the U.S. makes it too difficult for people to migrate legally. His nephew married a woman from Cambodia, and they have been trying for months to secure a spouse visa.

“If you are pushing all those people who are illegal out, why not make it easier for people who want to come here legally?” said Steers, 76. “We need to speed up the process for those who want to come here to benefit our country.”

While slightly fewer than half of U.S. adults say the number of legal immigrants should stay as it is, about one-quarter say the number of legal immigrants to the U.S. should be reduced “a lot” or “a little.” That marks a decrease from January, when about one-third said this.

The drop is largely driven by Republicans. About 3 in 10 Republicans now say that legal immigration should be reduced, down from 45% in January.

About 3 in 10 U.S. adults say the number of legal immigrants to the U.S. should be increased “a lot” or “a little,” up slightly from January, when 24% of Americans wanted an increase in legal immigration.

“If you don’t have immigration as a culture, the culture will stagnate. You have to have that balance,” Steers said.

Americans are more likely to see “major” benefits from people who come to the U.S. legally and less likely to see “major” risks, compared with an AP-NORC poll conducted early last year.

About 6 in 10 U.S. adults say a “major” benefit of immigrants in the country legally is that they contribute to economic growth, which went up from about 4 in 10 in March 2024. Similarly, 51% of U.S. adults say a “major” benefit of legal immigration is that American companies get the expertise of skilled workers in fields like science and technology, compared with 41% in March 2024.

Carlos Gonzalez, who was born in the U.S. to Panamanian parents, said immigrants “provide a lot to the economy of the United States.”

“They bring different ideas that help the economy,” said Gonzalez, 53, a Democrat from Waterbury, Connecticut, adding his mother served as a military nurse in Vietnam. “A lot of people don’t realize that when they do come over here, they try to enrich the country and not take away from it.”

Some of the perceived benefits are economic, but some are cultural, with about 46% saying a “major” benefit of legal immigrants is that they enrich American culture and values, up from 38% in the previous poll.

Jeff Witoszczak, of El Paso, Texas, identifies as a moderate Republican and supports Trump’s efforts to conduct large-scale deportations of people in the country illegally, saying he does not think the focus needs to be on those who have committed violent crimes. Witoszczak is married to a woman from Mexico who came to the U.S. legally when she was a child.

“Coming here illegally, that’s a crime in and of itself,” Witoszczak said. “They didn’t follow due process coming in. They don’t need due process going out.”

Americans tend to see greater risks — and smaller benefits — from immigrants who are in the country illegally, and these views largely haven’t shifted since last year.

About 4 in 10 U.S. adults now say it’s a major benefit that immigrants in the country illegally will take jobs Americans don’t want, up from about one-third last year. And 42% say that immigrants in the country illegally contribute to economic growth, and 32% believe that they enrich American culture and values. Those findings have remained steady since last year.

About half of U.S. adults say it’s a major risk that immigrants in the country illegally will burden welfare and safety net programs. Studies have shown that immigrants who work in the country illegally pay local, state and federal taxes and generally do not qualify for federal benefits.

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The AP-NORC poll of 1,183 adults was conducted Sept. 11-15, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

Shares of Tylenol maker Kenvue bounced back sharply at the opening bell Tuesday, a day after President Donald Trump promoted unproven and in some cases discredited ties between Tylenol, vaccines and autism.

“Don’t take Tylenol,” Trump instructed pregnant women around a dozen times during the White House news conference Monday, also urging mothers not to give their infants the drug, known by the generic name acetaminophen in the U.S. or paracetamol in most other countries.

Shares of the New Jersey consumer brands company tumbled 7.5% Monday. At the open of trading, shares bounced back by more than 6%.

The announcement, which appeared to rely on existing studies rather than significant new research, arrives as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic, advances the Make America Healthy Again movement that has focused on what it sees as potential causes of autism.

Kenvue disputed any link between the drug and autism this week and warned that if pregnant mothers don’t use Tylenol when in need, they could face a dangerous choice between suffering fevers or using riskier alternatives.

Kenvue was spun off from Johnson & Johnson’s pharmaceutical and medical device divisions in 2023 because it was thought that the companies could function more efficiently if they were independent from each other. Aside from Tylenol, the consumer health company makes Band-Aids, Listerine and other household brand names.

Citi Investment Research analyst Filippo Falorni wrote that he sees a limited risk of new lawsuits after Trump’s announcement, but thinks “there could be risk to Tylenol consumption given the negative headlines.”

Falorni anticipates a positive reaction for Kenvue’s stock at the opening bell on Tuesday given the lack of new scientific evidence.

The company has fought hundreds of lawsuits related to the product and its alleged ties to autism, but most have been dismissed.

Tylenol made headlines in the 1980s when seven people in the Chicago area were killed after taking the over-the-counter painkiller laced with cyanide. The incident triggered a nationwide panic and led to an overhaul in the safety of over-the-counter medication packaging. No one was ever charged in the deaths.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday signaled a cautious approach to future interest rate cuts, in sharp contrast with other Fed officials who have called for a more urgent approach.

In remarks in Providence, Rhode Island, Powell noted that there are risks to both of the Fed’s goals of seeking maximum employment and stable prices. But with the unemployment rate rising, he noted, the Fed agreed to cut its key rate last week. Yet he did not signal any further cuts on the horizon.

If the Fed were to cut rates “too aggressively,” Powell said, “we could leave the inflation job unfinished and need to reverse course later” and raise rates. But if the Fed keeps its rate too high for too long, “the labor market could soften unnecessarily,” he added.

Powell’s remarks echoed the caution he expressed during a news conference last week, after the Fed announced its first rate cut this year. At that time he said, “it’s challenging to know what to do.”

His approach is in sharp contrast to some members of the Fed’s rate-setting committee who are pushing for faster cuts. On Monday, Stephen Miran, whom President Donald Trump appointed to the Fed’s governing board, said that the Fed should quickly reduce its rate to as low as 2% to 2.5%, from its current level of about 4.1%. Miran is also a top adviser in the Trump administration and expects to return to the White House after his term expires in January, though Trump could appoint him to a longer term.

And earlier Tuesday, Fed governor Michelle Bowman also said the central bank should cut more quickly. Bowman, who was appointed by Trump in his first term, said inflation appears to be cooling while the job market is stumbling, a combination that would support lower rates.

When the Fed cuts its key rate, it often over time reduces other borrowing costs for things like mortgages, car loans, and business loans.

“It is time for the (Fed) to act decisively and proactively to address decreasing labor market dynamism and emerging signs of fragility,” Bowman said in a speech in Asheville, North Carolina. “We are at serious risk of already being behind the curve in addressing deteriorating labor market conditions. Should these conditions continue, I am concerned that we will need to adjust policy at a faster pace and to a larger degree going forward.”

Yet Powell’s comments showed little sign of such urgency. Other Fed officials have also expressed caution about cutting rates too fast, reflecting deepening divisions on the rate-setting committee.

On Tuesday, Austan Goolsbee, president of the Federal Reserve’s Chicago branch, said in an interview on CNBC that the Fed should move slowly given that inflation is above its 2% target.

“With inflation having been over the target for 4 1/2 years in a row, and rising, I think we need to be a little careful with getting overly up-front aggressive,” he said.

Last week the Fed cut its key rate for the first time this year to about 4.1%, down from about 4.3%, and policymakers signaled they would likely reduce rates twice more. Fed officials said in a statement that their concerns about slower hiring had risen, though they noted that inflation is still above their 2% target.